Texas Slave Narratives

Texas Slave Narrative

  Alice Wilkins

I was born in de year 1855, in Limestone County at a little place dey called Springfield, near Grosbeck Texas. My first Master was named Peoples , an' he sold me to Mrs. Aline Oliver from de town of Grosbeck, whar I was wen freedom cum. After freedom my mammy cum an' took me to live wid her over on de Brazos river whar she had been sold to a Mr. Shakleford , who had a plantation near de Harrison an' Dunklin plantation in de Brazos botton, near Tehuacana creek. Wen I lived on de Oliver place near Grosbeck I kin remember de soljers goin' to de war as dey pass our house, dey had on de blue uniforms an' de brass buttons on dem, de army wagons would follow wid de supplies, den de rebel soljers would pass in dey gray uniforms an' dey would march by our house singin' de war songs, "Dixie Land," an' de Yankees would sing as dey marched songs like "John Browns' body" and "Hold on Abraham." Hold on Abraham, never say die to your Uncle Sam, Uncle Sam's boys are comin' right along six hundred thousand strong. Wen dey is goin' to de war dey was singin' an' happy, but wen de rebel boys cum home dey is ragged an' most bare-foot an' hungry; Dey is glad to cum back home, an' forget about de war. Dey sing de rebel songs dey has sung in de army an' de one dey like de bes' was good old rebel, "Oh I'm a good old rebel, that's what I am, An' for dis land of freedom I dont give a damn, I'm glad I fought agin' her, I only wish w'ed won, An' I aint axed any pardon, for anything I've done." an' dis is de way dey feels. Den de niggers had a song dey sing about de "Year of Jubilee," an' "W'en de good Lord set you free," dey is all so happy dat de war is over dey all has dey songs to tell hit. Dis is de thing dat I remember de best dat happen wen I was jes a gal over on de Oliver plantation close to de Navasot bottom, wen freedom cum an' I goes over on de Brazos; lots of de slaves stay wid dey Masters an' some goes over in Navasot an' rents dem little land an' finally dey buys dem a little farm's after dey make a little money, an' de cotton sell pretty high, dey is some dat has had dey little farm over there ever since de war, an' if you remember dat wen dey struck oil in dis country dat dey is some of de nigger dat has dey little place whar dey find de oil an' dey git rich.

After I goes over to de Brazos bottom an' works on de Dunklin an' de Shakleford plantations I helps in de fields in de spring wen dey is hoeing de corn an' de cotton, an' den in de fall of de year I pick hit wid de rest of de field hands. We does not have to work so hard in de spring for dey is no weeds hardly an' de land is easy to work, so we is happy as we walkin' along a swingin de hoe we sing 'bout de old sandy land song. Big yam taters in de sandy lan', Sandy bottom, sandy lan', Sift your meal an' save de bran', Mighty good livin de de sandy land. In de winter we works in de house for de white folks, we spin de thread an' makes our clothes on de loom out of de homespun; dresses jes like dey did in de war, dey is little stores at Waco den, but de calico an' de cloth so high dat poor folks like us cant buy hit. De Misses buy dey clothes mostly now at de stores, but we keep on a makin' ours at de big house wid de spinnin' wheel an' de loom. I is sixteen 'bout dis time an' I git married. De Dr. Dunklin , whar I has been workin for de wimmen folks, gives us a pig to barbecue an' we has wild turkey an' sweet taters, cakes, pies an' jelly dat we has helped de Mistis to make from de plums dat grow in de bottom whar de wild plums an' de berries grow, an' we puts dem up into jelly an' preserves in de spirng. After de barbecue is over an' we had all et all we kin, den at night de preacher cum's from Waco an' we git ready to be married. De white folks cum an' see hit, we marries out in de yard under de big elm tree, an' we has de pine torches to light up for de light, I has on a long train dat one of de young Mistis has given me an' I has two little pickininies to walk behin' me an' hold hit up, an' wen I git to de tree de preacher an' my old man is standin' there, jes like de white folks do, an' he reads from de Bible an' he has me to promise dat I will obey an' help my ole man, den he has my old man to promise dat he will provide for me and take good keer of me, an' den we makes a mark in de Bible dat means our names signed an' den we is married. De preacher pronouce us man an' wife. Wen dis is over, den we all goes to de barn whar we are to have de dance.

Den de fiddler goes to playin "Hop light lady, de cakes all dough, makes no difference, so de wind don' blow". An' de caller call "All partners to de floor," wen dey all cum's on de floor, den he call "Honor your partners"! "lady on de left! "first couple forward! gents to de center! "all join hands an' promenade roun' an' 'roun! "Swing your partners! ladies to de center! an' gents doce-do, swing your partners an' all promenade home. "De fiddler keeps a playin an' dey keep dancin until de moon goes down, an' de ole gray owl in de sycamore tree's a watchin for de sun to cum up an' dey all goes home befo' de day breaks, an' so dis is de way dat my weddin' day is over, an' den I moves into a log cabin all to myself an' starts a home of my own dat I has kept until dis good day.  Wen I was raisin' my chillun's, dey had dey play- parties an' some of de games dey played was "Weevily Wheat," de boys stood in a line an' de gals in 'nuther line facin' de boys, dey sing as dey boys swing dey partners an' den dey promenade up an' down de line an' swing each one of de boys an' gals, dey sing, as dey promenade an' dance to de music of de jews harp, "Oh, I wont have none of your weevily wheat, I won't have none of your barley, It'll take some flour an' half an' hour, To bake a cake for Charley. Wen de parties over, dey cum's home a tired an' a happy chilluns' to dey old mammy an' pappy, an' to dey dreams. De country was full of settlers cumin' in by wagon trains pulled by de oxen! sometimes we would see as many as fifteen in a train passin de road dat led in front of de Harrison house on de road from Waco to de town of Houston. Dey hauled de freight an' de folks moves wid de oxen 'till dey begin to drive de horses an' mules an' den later on de Houston an' Texas Central Rail-road cums right in front of de Harrison place an' dey makes a switch about a mile-an'-a- half across de Tehuacana an' dey call hit, Harrison switch. Soon after de rail-road cum's dey commence to ship de lumber in from de saw mills in East Texas, an' dey build some of de houses wid dis lumber, General Harrison made some of de lumber on his place. Dey used de cotton wood, elm, an' oak an' walnut trees, some of dis lumber would twist after hit had laid in de sun a few hours an' effn dey was in a hurry to build de houses mostly wid de big hall in de center an' de rooms on each side of hit but some of de houses dat de folks could afford was built two story wid de hall in de center, upstairs an' down an' a single story ell run out in de back for de kitchen an' maybe dinin' room.

After some of de settlers lives out here a few years dey has a cyclone or two out in de prairie country, an' den dey build de storm cellar out near de house of dem to run to in de storm, but dey does not have dese much aroun' Waco, dey is mostly out in de western part of de state an' on de prairie north an' east, an' west of Waco, Waco bein' in a velley an de Brazoss bottom an' Tehuacana all in de valley, dey hardly ever has de storms like dey do in de prairie country. I 'members hearin' a traveller tell 'bout a cyclone dat pass thro' North Texas. He tell about how de big black cloud comes rollin' up an' how, wen hit git nearly to dem, hit dips down in de shape of a funnel an' den de wind hit an' hit goes, "boom!" an' a whislin' an' a moanin' thro' de tress an' de grass, an' de house shook like an' earthquake had hit it, dey holds to de doors an' anything dey kin hold to, but dis house stood, an' some of dem was blown into kindlin'. Dey was about twenty-two killed in dis cyclone, dis was jes one of several storms dey had in dem days, but some way dey does not cum like dey did. I members another time after dey build de storm cellars, of a fambly seein' de cloud an' runnin to de cellar an' jes as dey git in, de storm hit an' as dey pull de door of de cellar down dey see dey house go blowin' away, I know dis a true story for I saw de pieces of furniture scattered into kindlin' wood all over de place an' de house all blown away. De white folks helped each other in time of sickness an' dey had de old country doctor dat ride his horse from one place to another wid dey medicine bags on dey saddle, dey carries de pills, calomel, quinine an' blue-mass wid dem whar ever dey go. De neighbor wimmen would go an' stay for two an' three weeks an' help in de cases of fever, we used to have de malaria an' de typhoid more den, maybe account dat dey used to have de malaria an' de typhoid more den, maybe account dat dey did not know dat de misquito made de malaris in de ponds of water. An' dey has cleaned out de bottom so de water not stand so much now.

De wimmin' all took part in de community meetin's, camp meetin', singin' schools an' quiltins. Dis gib dem a chance to meet each other an' learn de news, sometimes dey has de quiltin's in de church an' sometimes in de homes an' dey all eats together an' bring dey dinner, an' dey talks an' quilts an' tells each other de news, wen dey goes home dey has all de news of de community an' sometimes dis is a good way to help each other for dey finds out who is sick an' dey plan how dey takes dey time goin' to help take keer to dem. We had to do wid-out lots of de things dat we think we could not do without now, like needles an' pins, an' for dey coffee dey used de potato peelin's, okra an' corn, an' parch hit for coffee. I kin remember how, wen de salt was out we used de dirt dug up from de floor of de smoke house whar dey had salted hogs an' boiled hit an' run hit thro' de ash-hopper, dis made a gray lookin salt but hit would de better dan none at all. Yer want to know about de ashhopper, well hit was dis way, four sticks was cut out a a saplin an' each one had a fork at de top dey was about three feet high an' driven in de groun' about four feet apart in a square. Dey would lie de sticks in dese forks an' dey made a frame, den dey would hollow out a log an' put hit on de ground, in de middle of dis frame wid a big rock at one end an' dis makes a trough, den clap-boards was sat in de square frame wid one end in de trough an' de other in de frame, dis makes a kind of box wid de trough on one side an' de clap boards on de other, de top of dis box or hopper was left open or covered wid loose boards dat could be taken out, dese hoppers was used to take de lye out of de ashes, by pouring water over de ashes in de hopper an' de water drippin' makes de lye. Dey puts de lye in de boilin pot wid de soap grease an' boils dem together until de soap thickens. For de cookin we mostly cooked on de open fireplace, we had a big skillet an' a big oven dat bake de bread, an' wen we cooks potatoes we banked de ashes aroun' dem an' leaves dem until mornin' an' dey is roasted an' ready to eat. For boilin' de vegetables we used a big old round black pot wid a crane, dis crane was iron bar wid a hook on de end of hit an' made so hit would turn aroun an' wen de pot is hung on hit, wid de vegatables, hit is jes pushed over de fire in de fireplace an' hit stays in dis place until dey is done.

Yes ma'm I remembers about de folks dat lived in de Brazos bottom in de days after de Civil War, dey was old General James E. Harrison old Dr. Dunklin an' Dr. Bayless Wood Earle dat cum to Texas in 1854 or 55 from Aberdeen Missippi, an' settled on de Brazos near de town of Waco an' close to Tehuacana Creek. Dey leaves dey plantations back in dis Missippi an' sells out dey store dat is run by dem, hit is called "Dunklin, Earle an' Harrison, General Merchandise Store . Dey cum to de town of Waco an' follow old Dr. Burlerson , who has started Baylor University, at Independence, Colonel Speight an' Shapley Ross , de father of Pete Ross , who was a cousin of Governor Bill Ross . All dese folks lived in de same town in Missippi. Dey cum together in de covered wagons drivin de oxen to dem. Some of de other famblies dat lived in de Brazos bottom but did not cum from Missippi as I knows of, was Tom Mullins , Billingsley an' de ole man Mose Warner who had a plantation dat was called de "Warner plantation," an' still is to dis day. Den dey was Dr. Bedwell an' de Shaklefords dat bought my mammy. Dese folks descendents married an' had famblies of dey own, Dr. Dunklin had a daughter dat married Gen. Harrison's grandson, Allison Harrison , who was a son of Captain John H. Harrison , dis Dr. Dunklin was a young man wen de Civil War started an' he was goin to old Baylor at Independence until hit moved to Waco den he goes to Baylor at Waco, he was not twenty-one den, an' wen de war begins he jines a company wid a lot of other Waco an' Central Texas boys, I does not remember who all was in dis company except de names of Mullins , Billingsley , and Downs , besides Young Dunklin , Captain John Harrison was in de war but I does not know if he was in dis company or not, hit was organized at Waco an' dey marched as far as Dr. Dunklin's home on de Brazos bottom jes back of de Harrison place.

Wen dey reach dis home of young Dunklin dey camp for de night an' de white folks give dem a barbecue dat night, an' all de young men's famblies from de bottom cum an' see dem, an' bring dem somethin to take to eat on dey way. Dey has a big time an' say "dey is goin' to de war to bring back de Yankee scalps." De nex' mornin' by sunup dey is gone an' wen dey cum home, some cum back an' some don't, as well as I kin member. Dey writes about how dey goes to de theatre in Houston an' how on a Sunday dey goes to church while dey is waitin' to be sent on to de old states whar dey is fightin'. Wen dey git to de old states dey is put in Wood's Texas Brigade, an' dey goes wid him all de way, some go wid him in his trip up in Tennessee, an' de mos dat was left wen de rebels surrendered was in de company at Appomatox an' young Dr. Dunklin was de lieutenant dat surrendered his company account of de Captain bein' killed, his name was Ryan I think. I will tell yer more about de young Dr. Dunklin for hit was in his fambly dat I worked after de war, he cums back an' he is still a young man an' his father, de old Dr., sends him to New York to study medicine an' he cums home an' goes to practicin', he is our fambly doctor until he dies in 1881, de whole country around mourned for him an' he was missed up to dis day by de old timers of dat part of de country. Dey is a lot more dat could be told about de ones who was our Master in slavery days, an' who was our friends in de days of de reconstruction, how dey looked after our needs, even to de churches for us, an' den dey is de old landmark of dey own church dat was called New Hope. Dr. Dunklin give de land for de church an' I member old Dr. B.H. Carroll cumin an' preachin' for de white folks as well de niggers. Wen de white folks all left, de church house was rebuilt an' hit still stands an' is in de same name, an' is in the same place, but dey gives hit to us old slaves for our color, an' to dis day hit stands a monument to de work of dese good folks of de Brazos bottom. Wen I think of how dey work for our good, dey is a little verse dat de young Dr. used to have in his office dat told of living in de house by de side of de road,-as de sons of men go by," an winds up wid dese words "An' be a frien' to man," an' dis is de way dat we remember dem, as dey old houses jes so silently reminds us of dem who has gone on to wait for us all, "Over There!"


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